Marvel’s Wolverine belongs to the same universe as Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man. Is there room to see Fantastic Four?

Marvel is a machine that doesn’t stop. It happens in movies, on TV, in comics and, with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 served on PS5, also in video games. The next project announced by Insomniac Games, its creators, is Marvel’s Wolverine, which will focus on the X-Men figurine with adamantium claws. PlayStation Studios’ most anticipated game, in fact. We also now officially know that both games take place in the same universe.

Stick with this: Earth-1048. It could be said that there is a sort of shared continuity that runs parallel between all of the Marvel Universes regardless of the medium in which they take place. The best example of this is the film Spider-Man: Crossing the Multiverse and this is precisely where it is reaffirmed to the general public that the Peter-Parker that we saw in the Insomniac Games games lives on Earth-1048. A number which, as you will see a little further down, is not chosen at random.

It would be unfair to say that Marvel’s original Spider-Man was created as a project completely isolated from the rest of the Marvel universes: Insomniac stated in 2018 that the symbiote suit was not added to the game because they wanted it save for something greater. There were already hints that a sequel was in the works, we’re not going to deny that, but deep down the studio’s vision was much bigger.

I think this suit (the symbiote suit) deserves to have a special role. And making it another unlockable costume wouldn’t do it justice.

This is one of the best Spider-Man stories. I think it’s a complex plot, and I think it’s a story that needs to be told the way we like to do things at Insomniac.

But let’s not get distracted: What does Wolverine have to do with all this? According to statements by Bryan Intihar, creative director of Insomniac, during the Kinda Funny podcast, the video game Marvel’s Wolverine will take us back to that same universe we began to discover with 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man.

Initiating, in passing, a sort of expansion similar to that which Sony Pictures itself is carrying out with Venom, Morbius or Requirements . Only with one nuance: in this case, the licenses go beyond those associated with the New York wall-crawler be an X-Men.

How was created Earth-1048

How to create a new little corner within the enormous Marvel multiverse? Well, when it comes to video games we can start from one premise: Marvel and Disney must be interested in offering their licenses to any project and developer before giving it shape and, from there , creative aspects are considered under their supervision. . Sometimes they are the ones who take the initiative, as was the case with Marvel’s Midnight Suns, and others receive offers.

Concerning the attribution of the number, things are much simpler: at E.S News we spoke with 2K and the creators of Marvel’s Midnight Suns and they gave us the definitive answer.

Jacob Solomon: Marvel Games told me I could create the name for our universe. I still have it on hold, but I’d like it to be something like « Universe 666 », more or less in line with the Midnight’s Children theme.

Joe Weinhoffer: All you have to do is choose a number! (Laughs)

But the best part is that in our interview, Solomon himself told us how the designation of Marvel’s Spider Man universe was decided: the chosen number is something that its creators and developers keep in mind each day.

Jacob Solomon: At Marvel Games, they told me that the people at Insomniac, the creators of « Marvel’s Spider-Man, » were using their studio’s direction for their universe. (Laughs)

Perhaps the fact that Marvel’s Wolverine taking place in the same universe is more of a conformation than a big surprise, but that does not mean that we are facing a very interesting approach both on the part of PlayStation Studios in order to extend the project beyond related licenses has Spider Man . Which is not really rare.

Overall, it doesn’t hurt to keep in mind that Marvel hasn’t put all its eggs in one basket: Electronic Arts is making its own gaming game. Iron Man and Skybound has at least two projects related to the heroes of the House of Ideas.

Will we see the Avengers or the Fantastic Four in the Earth-1048 ?

We know that Insomniac Games games based on Spider-Ma They focus on Earth-1048 and we are also very aware that, beyond the costumes inspired by the films of Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios, in this universe references and unequivocal clues have been shown that the rest of the characters of Marvel coexist there.

In the original Spider-Man game from 2018, we face a not-so-usual wall-crawling villain and it’s even possible to find, while wandering around New York, important buildings such as Matt Murdock’s law office ( aka Matt Murdock). Daredevil ), the tower of Avengers and, if we look closely, in the sequel we will even find an unequivocal clue that leaves the doors open to the existence of the first family of superheroes.

However, from a practical standpoint, these are more Easter eggs than direct interaction with these characters.

How far do the boundaries of Earth 1048 extend? With the games we have so far, everything begins and ends around the adventures of Peter Parker and Miles Morales. And it’s not a small thing. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has some surprises that we won’t get into and just keep for you, but Insomniac has always implied that there are more heroes in its little piece of the Marvel multiverse.

Another thing is when and how we’ll see new main characters, but Wolverine’s entrance onto the scene through his own title is a momentous step forward. Especially, considering triumphant return of mutants in video games.

From there, it’s time to consider Bill Rosemann, creative director of all Marvel games, with Marvel’s own website regarding Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.

Then you just start making decisions. We have a list on the board and we might have to remove some names, but we thought, « Well, the good news is, if this game does well, there might be more!  » I don’t know!

In anything Marvel, whether you’re doing comics, movies, animation, whatever, sometimes you think about the long game and it just becomes an opportunity, like, « Hey, we couldn’t use them here. » Let’s make the decision.  » « . the right reasons and I hope, maybe, I don’t know, that they can end up somewhere else. »

What is clear is that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is more than a sequel : This is a new step forward in the face of a larger project that is taking shape game by game. The next one, barring any surprises, will feature Wolverine. We assume there will be plenty left in the pipeline, but if we’ve learned anything, it’s that the best ideas aren’t wasted: They are saved for a little later.